Guava Tree or Psidium guajava (Myrtaceae)

in #treetuesday6 years ago

Guava Tree or Psidium guajava (Myrtaceae) also known as the Umdoni Tree, Koejawel in Afrikaans.

Looking into trees, would we know one species from the next, keep learning!

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Guava Trees are no longer seen in our area as they once were, many have been removed, now noted in alien category 3, trees may not be sold/traded and only planted in certain areas.

At one time you would walk into wooded areas seeing fruit picked by the local folk, in fact we had 2 trees across the road when the land was vacant.

Guava Tree Fruit
Source

Sadly this fruit bearing tree is invasive, drinking up water which indigenous trees require, fruit flies are attracted to the fallen fruit which may contaminate other indigenous orchards or berries. Seeds are dispersed by birds and monkeys moving up and down the coastal belt. Yup mother nature at work through poop!

Ever green, bearing fruit there is no way of stopping the trees growing along the KwaZulu-Natal coast belt, it is up individuals to identify and make decision as to gardening within indigenous only. I feel sorry for the animals when fruit bearing trees are removed, always less for them to eat off the land of late, no wonder they are invading houses stealing from kitchens.

Guava trees are found in tropical regions of Central and South America, where much more water is available, this tree must be considered before planting if we want to keep our local plants in thriving good health.

Irony is the name Umdoni is an isiZulu name for the indigenous tree, clearly this is not the case with the species known as a guava tree. Trees can reach 10 m in height, fruit will be eaten by Birds and Vervet Monkeys in preference to indigenous trees. Guava plantations in the Mpumalanga and Cape regions under agricultural farming are areas where the trees are nurtured for fruit.

Now I know why all the guava trees we had growing wild have disappeared, they have been listed as invasive and yes our municipality will remove them. Below is a photo of a similar species, this one protected, we really have to know which trees are acceptable to have and which we need to think long and hard before planting trees in our gardens.

Water-berry tree

By the year 2000, 10 million hectares of land in South Africa had been invaded by alien plants. Alien plants have numerous impacts:

They increase flood damage
They compete with agricultural crops
They displace indigenous plants and animals
They increase the loss of water from catchments
They expand the range of disease-causing organisms 

Source

Thought for today: When there is a big tree, small ones climb on its back to reach the sun. ~ African Proverb


Tree Tuesday - my contibution to @old-guy-photos

2nd Photo Not my Own - 1st and 3rd Photo's my photography (please ask permission before you use any of my photography)


Previous articles on Trees for Tree Tuesday - (These articles are older than 7 days please do not upvote and waste your voting power)

https://steemit.com/treetuesday/@joanstewart/natal-forest-cabbage-tree

https://steemit.com/treetuesday/@joanstewart/palm-trees-in-kwazulu-natal?sort=trending

https://steemit.com/treetuesday/@joanstewart/tree-aloe


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I love guava!

Good vitamin source, enjoy them occasionally.

News of them being invasive is also news to me. There are a few Guava trees here on the farm, but they don't seem to affect the apple orchards. I will let the farm manager know. Blessings!

Apparently they do farm them in the Cape, people are asked to be on the look out for specific rust marks on leaves of trees, some alien trees may affect other trees in orchards. http://saforestryonline.co.za/news/myrtle-rust-spreading-in-sa/

I had no idea that they were invasive. I remember seeing them everywhere when I was growing up. Always believed that they belonged here.

Shocked to learn they were invasive myself, however not all from the Myrtaceae species are.

It would appear it is due to the water they require, trying hard to keep our garden indigenous to the region, not always an easy task.

I'm sure that it could be challenging.

Beautiful Article and Pictures 👍👍

Trees are good partners and good destinations for human beings, and they are also the origin of human beings.

Trees are definitely good partners in life @cloudblade

nice post my friends i love tree @joseleonardojose

I did not know guavas were invasive, I just love them, most interesting post @joanstewart!

Live and learn every day @lizelle trying to identify and find out more when photographing trees.

Here in South Texas in the summer it is great to have the trees around a house to help keep it cool and cut back on AC use. We have about 10 trees very close to the house for this.

Good way to save money, also helps with oxygen something I do think should happen more is roof gardens in cities @richard78624

Cool post. thanks for share :) upvoted and resteemed

Thanks for being kind and supportive @maryresp

I love them infact we have a guava tree in our garden where my son used to pluck them and eat directly.

Best way to enjoy them, fresh off the tree @kcherukuri

We have an Apple tree in our backyard I like a lot. It provides shade for our deck and the macintosh apples aren't bad - make a nice pie.

Love apple pie, so enjoy when fresh off the tree @deathlyhorror

The pictures and everything about this post is wonderful

It is really interesting and the photos are nice too. Thanks from kryptonia @jamescrusader

Thanks for visiting James.

I really love this, From kryptonia id @uche234

Love your African proverbs @joanstewart. So many that I have never heard before. And it is news to me that guava trees are not indigenous to South Africa. We have one in our garden...

Living in Johannesburg, I remember one April Fool's joke where they announced in the media that Jacaranda trees are invasive and that they will all be removed. The uproar was huge. They are in full bloom right now and it is a beautiful sight!

Many trees are damaging the ground soil water content, the Jacaranda is listed however I have not heard of them removing the trees, one up the road is in full bloom now as well, very pretty. I think it is up to the person owning the land to make the decision in some cases http://www.invasives.org.za/legislation/item/265-jacarandajacaranda-mimosifolia

So many trees and plants on invasive list it will take years to clear, clearing in nature reserves will most probably start first.

Proverbs are always lessons in living, thanks for visiting and have a great day.

great story, good pictures and well organised post. from kryptonia @nyphotask

I don't think I have ever had guava, but it's definitely hard to keep certain trees which as you mentioned, can affect the rest of the trees/bushes etc in the area.

Unusual taste, has pink flesh and pips so might be an acquired taste. Fresh is best locked up full of vitamins, canned also good, if you see them try them.

Benefits of guavas are aplenty and now we're going to talk about guava's nutritional value. A 100 gm serving of the fruit contains just 68 calories and 8.92 gm sugar, according to the data of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Guavas are also rich in calcium as they contain 18 gm of the mineral per 100 gm of the fruit. It also contains 22 gm of magnesium per 100 gm of the fruit, as well as significant amounts of phosphorus and potassium- 40 and 417 gm per 100 gm, respectively.
[Source]

Oh its sad to hear that Guava trees are disappearing from your region, but we have a lot of guava trees here in India some give white guavas while others give red ones. and they are so tasty

Never seen the white guava, we get fresh fruit juice which I do enjoy, the fresh fruit not so much anymore with fighting pips between your teeth. Guava is so healthy, locked up with loads of goodness.

not white from outside, I mean the inside color is white one..

I have only seen pink inside, never white, I believe there are a few different ones around the world. By researching it appears no matter the colour, they are bumper packed with goodness.

oh i got it you know we use to eat guava leaves to remove the odour of alcohol after drinking it :p

Never heard of that, too late to worry about that now LOL

Hahahahahha i like that hey bro whats going on with superior coin

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Thanks for an informative post about Guava trees: I didn't know they spread like that. Great photos too

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They love lots of water, very happy you found the post informative.

Seems everywhere there is a problem of invasive species. Right Mother Nature is always changing.

What humans did not bring, Mother Nature will find a way of spreading her love around. My feeling is, if something grows leave it till it dies of naturally and just don't replace.

I do like trees and for some reason there are a surprising amount of palm trees in London. I bet they feel like they have been stitched up with the lack of sunshine

Trees in cities always wonderful to have @ianstevenson

My computer needs a new cord and I am on my phone. My hands are screaming!

I'm thanking you for the sup coin gift. What a wonderful surprise and so generous of you, Joan.

I'm sad about your guavas. But I understand about invasive trees. This is a big problem in California. People just wanted shade and did not think of the consequences in the old days.

Still farm them and we do get fresh in stores or juiced which I prefer. Street vendors find the wild trees and quite often you still see them selling them on the roadside, not quite as regularly as prior years.

Working from a phone is not easy, well not for me I feel restricted in movement being used to the old fashioned keyboard for typing.

Always a pleasure helping where I am able Sharon.

I love trees, especially Mango trees. It is a nice place to relax on a sunny day.

Sit under the tree and enjoy the fruit.

We used to have one tree at the old house, I used to climb on it a lot just for fun when kids!

Guava trees occur naturally here in Venezuela, especially in the area where I live, their fruits are very tasty and prepared in sweets, jellies, juices and ice cream. Thank you for sharing excellent information!

Yes, home for guava is your region.

muy rica la guayaba, me gusta mucho en jugos. Ahora no sabía que en algunas regiones es una planta invasora.

Yes, juice is great for nutritional value. Trees not meant to be in an area need to be removed.

Very informative and although heard of guava, never seen the tree.
On a rant note :) We have a lot of trees around our property but not one on it, however we are treated to copious amounts of dead leaves which the dogs like to bring in the house, either in their mouths on on their feet :)
On a brighter note: Congrats on winning the @Steemitbuilder comp and getting 4 FREE builds :)
Have a great Weekend Joan

Thanks for notification @socialmediaseo still getting to find my way around #steemitbuilder which is super supportive I must admit.

As for trees, at least you have trees close to your property, a little mess from time to time cannot be avoided. Imagine not having trees at all, no shade, nowhere for the dogs to make a bit of a mess when playing, stark buildings with no song of birds...